Prime Minister Perry Christie said yesterday the Gaming Bill has "a lot of issues" and requires a lot of "heavy lifting", but added it will be tabled in the House of Assembly soon.
The bill was initially expected to be tabled earlier this month.
"We are finished with the constitutional legislation," he told reporters. "We have the gaming legislation now.
"There's a lot of heavy lifting with that and a lot of issues with that. I think [on Wednesday] we completed a substantial part of the work.
"We have a little dressing up to do and then it'll be ready for Parliament. So if I could put those behind us in terms of effecting those through Parliament then we would be in good stead."
Christie said once the constitutional bills and Gaming Bill are passed, the government will turn its attention to energy reform.
The Cabinet met on Wednesday to discuss the Gaming Bill.
The tabling of the bill was delayed as the government consulted with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) officials in Europe over its plans to regularize the web shop industry.
Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe, who has responsibility for gaming, previously said that the government has to ensure that the "progressive piece of legislation" is accepted by banks, the web shop operators, the FATF, casino operators and Bahamians in general.
The newest draft of the Gaming Bill would continue to prohibit Bahamians from gambling in casinos.
Web shops would be permitted to legally engage in cash betting transactions with domestic players only, the bill says.
The "domestic player" refers to anyone who is ordinarily resident in The Bahamas; is the holder of a permanent residence certificate; is a work permit holder or the spouse of any of these people.
Several people have criticized the bill for its discriminatory components.
Former FNM Cabinet Minister Theresa Moxey-Ingraham, who coordinated the 'Vote Yes' campaign ahead of the January 2013 gambling referendum, and Marco City MP Greg Moss agree that the continued discrimination against Bahamians in the Gaming Bill, as well as the provision that would prohibit foreigners from gambling in web shops, is "economic apartheid".
Moxey-Ingraham told The Guardian this week that she cannot support the bill.
"I don't believe that in a modern democracy we ought to have that kind of legislation as a part of our framework," she said.
Wilchcombe said the legislation is not intended to be "restrictive insofar as economic apartheid".
He acknowledged that the government has more work to do, adding that it is taking it one step at a time.
Christie said last month that web shops will be taxed and regulated as of July 1, 2014.

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